


Panic! on the Ferry

by Emily_F6



Series: Penny Parker Prompts [20]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Female Peter Parker, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Penny Parker - Freeform, Peter Parker Whump, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26159668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6
Summary: Prompt: Penny has a panic attack during the ferry scene.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Penny Parker Prompts [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899553
Comments: 5
Kudos: 191





	Panic! on the Ferry

Penny wasn't sure why her chest hurt so much. Wasn't sure why her breathing felt off or why her hands shook as she gripped the railing, watching as the ferry moved slowly back to the dock. The metal started to dent under her fingers and she let go, mask clutched in one hand.

This was bad. This was so bad. Wingsuit guy had gotten away and all of those people had nearly…had nearly…because of her they…she couldn't finish the thought. Couldn't bear to. And now Mr. Stark.

Iron Man approached and she wanted to run. Wanted to jump off the concrete slab overlooking the water and hide. Anywhere. Hide until he wasn't angry anymore. Hide until she could breathe right. Her left shoulder hurt so bad and her ribs ached and she just wanted to lie down somewhere and sleep it all off, although with the way her heart pounded, loud enough to make her chest ache, she didn't think she'd get any real sleep.

"Previously on Penny screws the pooch…". He was mad…so mad. But somewhere under all of the pain and terror, she was mad too!

"Is everyone okay?" She asked, her own voice far away and warped, as if she were underwater.

"No thanks to you."

Penny spun, hating the angry tears that filled her eyes and the way she had to gasp for air to get enough of it in her lungs but none of that mattered. Because this wasn't entirely her fault! "I told you they had those weapons! But you wouldn't listen! If you even cared, you'd actually be here!" Her words seemed to require so much air and the ocean roared in her ears…or something did. Someone was roaring and her heart was beating so fast and it hurt!

The suit dropped then, hovering just over the ground, and then opened. Mr. Stark stepped out, face blank but angry, and Penny felt the pain in her chest kick it up a notch.

All those people…so many people…they could have…they almost…

"I did listen, kid." He went on, words gaining volume, moving forward so that she had to take a step back, her breath not coming as easy. It was hard to breathe…harder and harder and all those people could have…could have…

"Mr. Stark, I…". She tried, because something was wrong. Something bad.

"No this is where you zip it!" He snapped, pointing a finger and glaring and he hated her and it was her fault and all those people and the man with the wings and weapons dealers with alien weapons and she was only fifteen but he was saying something else and she couldn't help it anymore.

Tears spilled from her eyes as she clutched her chest, knees starting to buckle as the world tilted, the ocean or something roaring in her ears. She expected to hit the concrete. Expected to crumble. But arms grabbed her, one gripping her left shoulder that hurt so much and she couldn't help the strangled cry of pain. He let go immediately and she closed her eyes, not wanting to see this. Not wanting to see the look on his face.

Hands awkwardly lowered her to her knees, more careful of her arm this time. "Penny? Kid!" He demanded, not sounding quite so angry anymore. She was crying, she realized…tears dripping down her face and she couldn't stop it, not when her chest was on fire. Had she been poisoned or something? Was she having a heart attack? At fifteen?

She wanted to answer him…or ask for help, but her breath came in wheezing gasps and she clutched her chest where the pain was almost unbearable. All those people…she'd screwed up and almost gotten all of those people…killed. She'd almost killed them all!

"Friday talk to me! Now!"

Spots were appearing in her vision and with a jolt of terror, she realized she must be dying. "No…no, no…". She whimpered, one hand pressed to her chest as if trying to force her heart to slow down, the other gripping his arm, probably too hard. Penny sobbed as the world continued to grow dimmer and dimmer, head spinning from the lack of oxygen.

She was dying she was dying she was dying

"Penny you're…have to…kid…"

And then it was quiet.

Penny didn't dream. Not really. She was vaguely aware of someone moving with her in their arms. It felt like she was flying, and it was kind of nice. She drifted for a long time, until someone pricked her with something in the arm, and she groaned at the feeling. But numbness soon filled her body, and soon she was gone again.

She woke to voices. Voices that were far away, like they were in another room. But still just loud enough to hear.

"Tony, you can't take all the blame for this."

"I was yelling at her. I was yelling at a fourteen-year-old girl with a dislocated shoulder who had just been attacked by a man with alien weapons, and she had a panic attack. How the hell is this not on me? She tried to tell me, Pep. She…god she…she tried."

"Tony, you couldn't have known."

"If I'd shut up for two seconds, I could have. If I'd just…just talked to her!"

Penny blinked at the ceiling, then tried to shift, flinching when that made her arm ache. Glancing down, she realized that her upper body was propped against a pillow, and her arm was parallel to her chest, held there by a sling.

"Okay. So you messed up. But she's okay. Helen looked her over." Penny realized then that they were talking about her. They had to be. "And now you can talk to her."

"I gave her a panic attack, Pepper."

"I'd say it was probably a combination of…"

"I gave her a panic attack. She's never going to want to talk to me again."

"Tony…you're that girl's hero."

Penny closed her eyes, not wanting to hear any more. Not wanting to eavesdrop. It was a problem with her new powers…she could hear so well now, and she didn't want to.

The door to her room opened, but she kept her eyes shut, breathing deeply and remembering when she couldn't. "Penny?" Someone asked, so she let them open and found herself looking up at Dr. Helen Cho. The Doctor Helen Cho.

"You…". Penny started, eyes widening, and the woman's brow furrowed in concern. "You're…you're Doctor Helen Cho!" She gasped.

"Yes…".

"You…you totally revolutionized the field of medicine with your cellular regeneration technology."

The woman's face went from concerned to bemused and she laughed a little. "Well…thank you. I wasn't aware that I had fans."

"I wrote a paper on you…what you've done is incredible!"

"Are you interested in going into medicine?"

"Oh …um…I was thinking Bioengineering but…maybe." Penny shrugged, a little self-conscious.

"Well, if you ever want to take a closer look at my research, I'd be glad to sit down with you." Penny felt her jaw literally drop, and the Doctor chuckled. "For now, though, let's talk about what happened to you. What do you remember?"

Penny dropped her eyes then, cheeks flushing. "I…I messed up." She whispered, wondering where Mr. Stark was now…if he'd ever speak to her again. "The ferry…I didn't know he'd called the FBI but…but the FBI couldn't take him. He had alien weapons and that wingsuit and…and that gun…laser thing …it split the ferry apart! I…I had to hold it together and then…then Mr. Stark…"

"You did manage to hold the ferry together for almost a full minute before Tony got there according to your suit. We watched the footage from your suit…I've never encountered anyone with strength like that, except maybe the Hulk. But you dislocated your left shoulder, tore a muscle in your right arm, and fractured one of your ribs."

"Was that why I couldn't breathe?" She asked, bringing a hand to her chest at the phantom memory.

"No. Based on your suit's readings and Tony's description, I believe you were having a panic attack.

Immediately, Penny felt her cheeks flushed, embarrassed for reasons she didn't quite understand. She'd cried in front of Mr. Stark…had had a complete breakdown and…and he'd had to take her to the Medbay. Because she was a stupid kid that couldn't do anything right.

Penny felt her eyes heat up again, and she dropped her head, trying to stifle the sniffles. Immediately, Dr. Cho moved to her side and placed a gentle hand on her good shoulder. "I…I didn't mean to." She whispered.

"I know. Everyone knows what happened with the ferry was an accident."

"But…but he was so mad and he hates me now and…"

"Tony does not hate you." Dr. Cho corrected gently, squeezing her shoulder. "He was very worried about you. He was afraid, and he was probably upset at the moment, but he's been waiting for hours for you to wake up."

"Hours?" Penny gasped, starting to sit up. "May…"

"Tony called her and told her that he brought you here for the internship. Don't worry." She sighed in relief, slumping back against the bed and closing her eyes. "How does your arm feel?"

"Not bad."

"Good. We have you on some pain medicine, and it might make you drowsy, so no driving." She told her wryly, and Penny cracked a smile. "No swinging either. Not until you're cleared by me."

"Is…is Mr. Stark going to…". She lowered her eyes, not wanting to say it.

"Come in here and yell at you?" She asked with another smile. "No. He wants to make sure you're okay. And he might want to talk to you. But no yelling, and very minimal scolding. I warned him."

"I can just go…". Penny whispered, but Dr. Cho shook her head.

"He's not angry with you, Penny. I promise. He was…he was ready scared. And he felt awful."

She frowned at that. "What? Why? Why would he feel bad?"

"Because he was shouting at you when you had a panic attack…he blames himself for it. And although I have to agree that he shouldn't have been yelling at you, I think it was a combination of everything that happened that caused it…the fight with the man who had the alien weapons and the ferry being pulled apart and then a stressful talk with someone you look up to …all of those things combined caused the panic attack. Your heart rate was already elevated before Tony arrived to speak with you."

Penny nodded, eyes still downcast, and Helen sighed a little.

"I'm going to leave it up to you, though. If you don't want to speak with him right now, I'll tell him you need to keep resting. I don't want you upset."

Penny considered it for a moment. Thought about telling Dr. Cho that she didn't want to talk to Mr. Stark. Then imagined sneaking out and changing her name and joining a circus so she never had to face him again. Instead, she nodded. "Yeah, I…if he wants to talk to me…". She shrugged, and Dr. Cho smiled a little.

"Okay. I'll let him know. If you want him to leave, just push the button." She pointed to a little remote that sat at Penny's side on her bed. "I'll come in and tell him you need to rest. Which you do, by the way. Your shoulder is still healing, but it should be well enough to take out of the sling by the time you leave this evening."

"What time is it?" Penny wondered.

"Almost six. Hopefully your arm will be better in a couple of hours."

With that, the doctor was gone, and Penny heard her voice in a nearby room. "She's awake if you want to talk to her." She told someone, her voice soft. "But Tony…"

"I know, I know." Mr. Stark assured her, sounding tired.

"I mean it, Tony. I don't want her to be stressed or upset. She just woke up and she's not feeling very well."

"I wasn't going to yell at her."

"I didn't think you were. But you can be…emotional."

She thought she heard Miss Potts snort, and then his footsteps were approaching. Once more, Penny thought about that whole sneaking out plan, but there were no windows and there was an IV in her arm that she was too afraid to pull out, so she just stared at her hands and waited. The footsteps got closer and closer and she felt her heart speed up a little. But she didn't want to freak out. Not again…not in front of Mr. Stark. So she tried to breathe slowly, taking deep, careful breaths until her door opened and her stomach dropped. He was here.

He was quiet for a moment, and she watched through her eyelashes and the hair that had fallen in her face just a little as his feet brought him closer until he was standing at her side. She remained perfectly still as if doing so would make it impossible for him to see her.

"I can go." He told her finally, voice soft and a little sad, but genuine. Serious. "If…if you're not up for talking, you can just rest for a little while."

"I'm fine." She told him quietly in a voice that threatened to break."

"Okay…". Mr. Stark hesitated, then sat in a chair at her side. "I already talked to your aunt. She thinks you're working on an internship project and doesn't expect you back for another few hours. We can push it back further if your shoulder is still bothering you." Penny nodded, not sure what to say, so she went with a muttered 'thanks.' "Penny…". He started, and she glanced up at him for the first time, meeting his eyes. "I…I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened a little. She certainly hadn't expected that. "It wasn't your…"

He shook his head before she could finish, holding up a hand, and she shut her mouth with an audible 'click' of her teeth that made him flinch. He dropped the hand, clenching it into a fist in his lap. "It…it was. My fault. I…I should have…shit." He shook his head at himself, a mirthless smile turning his lips. "I should have done better."

Those words sounded so familiar…so like the ones she kept telling herself.

"I gave you that suit and I asked for your help and then…then I didn't…I didn't talk to you. I listened. I really did. About the weapons. I called the FBI but I should have told you that. I should have known that you would still be worried about alien weapons in your neighborhood. And then…with the ferry."

"I'm sorry." She cut in, lowering her eyes and hoping it could be enough. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"

He reached out, movements hesitant and awkward until he finally dropped a hand on her good arm. "I know. I know you didn't mean to. And it wasn't your fault. The FBI couldn't have taken that guy alone. Not with his weapons. And I…I just showed up and found you being torn apart by a ferry and I…I freaked out. Okay? I…I just…I was scared. Because if I was the reason a fourteen-year-old girl died, then…I don't know how I could live with that."

Penny didn't mean to say the words…didn't mean for them to slip out. But they did. "I'm fifteen."

He stared at her, eyes widening a little, but then his lips quirked into a little smile. "Right. Sorry. A fifteen-year-old, then. August 10th, right?" Penny nodded, and his smile dropped. "I thought you were going to die."

"I did too." She admitted, her voice small and afraid, and he seemed to pale a little.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you were in that situation and I'm sorry you were alone."

"I should have listened to you."

"Yeah, well…you're going to be okay. And…I can't blame you for not listening when I didn't really talk to you." Penny felt a tiny grain of hope in her chest. "Everyone is going to be okay. Except for that Vulture guy. We'll have to take care of him."

"We?" Penny asked, the word escaping in a tiny, hopeful voice, and he smiled, face warm.

"Yeah, kid. We. How about we try and make this a real mentorship."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He patted his hands on his knees, then stood. "How about I get someone to bring us dinner and we try and get this guy, huh?"

Penny gave a hesitant nod. "Yeah?"

He grinned. "Yeah."


End file.
